LIKE many schoolboys growing up in Wales in the late 1960s, Martin Griffiths used to watch Star Trek and remembers watching Neil Armstrong's historic walk on the moon.

For a young lad with a telescope like him, the idea of one day being called up by Nasa to help explain to people around the world their search for planets, life and intelligence beyond the solar system, would have been the stuff of dreams.

But now the boy has grown and for the 41-year-old from Bridgend the dream has just come true.

Both Mr Griffiths and his colleague from the University of Glamorgan's Centre for Astronomy and Science Education, Professor Mark Brake, have been invited to join a committee of the US space agency Nasa.

The two Welsh academics are to become members of the 12-strong Nasa Astrobiology Institute Science Communication Committee, which has been drawn from experts in America, Australia, Canada and Europe.

Their appointments are recognition of their international experience in this field and a feather in the cap of the Welsh university.

"There's a dearth of understanding in the public sector about what scientists do, as scientists are not particularly good communicators," explained Mr Griffiths.

"There tends to be a segregation both between the arts and sciences and also between science and the public. The public tends to be alienated by jargon.

"Science communication can bridge that gap, opening up science to the public, to the political arena and examining its historical, cultural and philosophical significance.

"And Mark and I are innovative science communicators."

At the University of Glamorgan, the pair have set up two cross-curricular degrees - Astronomy and Space, and Science and Science Fiction - which involve a sociological, historical and philosophical approach to the search for alien life.

"It's a human endeavour," he said. "So we have to look at the whole human aspect of it.

"We have also set up a study module called Life in the Universe, which was the first one of its kind in Europe and we do a lot of public outreach work in South Wales."

The pair have also lectured around the world on science communication and are regular contributors to television and radio.

Of course, there are those cynics who believe that man's search for alien life is not one which necessarily sits comfortably with a mission to keep the public tuned in.

With reference to the alleged incident in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, where alien beings were said to have been captured by the US Government, conspiracy theorists claim that in the event of another such discovery, the public at large would be the last to know.

Martin Griffiths disagrees. "If there was contact with an alien race it would be all over the newspapers the same day," he said.

"It's not something that can be hidden.

"There are conspiracy theories about governments already knowing about alien life, but it's too big a thing to hide. It's just not possible to do it.

"I always think about Nixon and the fact that he couldn't keep Watergate a secret despite the fact that he had 24-hour a day control of his own aides. And there are millions of scientists across the world."

Mr Griffiths is, however, confident that we are not alone in the universe.

"I think there's extra-terrestrial life out there," he said. "We do not yet have unequivocal evidence that it exists, but one day we will find it.

"And when we do it will be excellent news. It won't be like Independence Day with the aliens trying to overrun the Earth.

"These alien beings may be so far away that it will be very difficult to travel here and vice-versa. It will be more of a brotherhood relationship."

Mr Griffiths described the call-up by Nasa as "absolutely fantastic news".

"I've been interested in all this from a very early age," he said "Watching man land on the moon, owning a telescope from the age of six.

"To think as a kid that I would one day be doing something like this - it would have been a dream come true."

Do either of his own children share in his passion and plan to follow in his footsteps?

"No," said Mr Griffiths. "My daughter says she wants to be a lawyer and my son wants to be a builder. He says there's more money in it."